Ebony Rainford-Brent MBE and Pete Ackerley appointed ECB Non-Executive Directors

World Cup-winning England cricketer Ebony Rainford-Brent MBE and sports development expert Pete Ackerley have been appointed to the ECB Board as Cricket Non-Executive Directors.

They fill the final two vacancies on the Board, and their appointments will be ratified at tomorrow’s ECB Annual General Meeting.

Ebony won the ICC Women’s World Cup and the ICC World T20 with England in 2009, playing 22 One Day Internationals and seven IT20 matches for her country during her career as a player. She was Director of Women’s Cricket for Surrey County Cricket Club until 2022 and founded the successful African-Caribbean Engagement (ACE) Programme, creating opportunities for young cricketers from Black communities. She is also a popular broadcaster.

Pete has over 25 years' senior experience in sports development. He has been a member of the ECB’s Participation and Growth Board, Non-Executive Director of the Lancashire Cricket Foundation, Chair of Lord’s Taverners Charitable Programmes and a Trustee of the England and Wales Cricket Trust, as well as being a former Head of Development for the ECB. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of the British American Football Association, and Chair of Trustees of Wembley National Stadium Trust. Other previous roles include Head of Participation for the Football Association.

Their three-year appointments follow those of Penny Avis and Baroness Zahida Manzoor, who join as Independent Non-Executive Directors, and Jennifer Owen Adams and Gareth Williams, who join as Cricket Non-Executive Directors.

Existing Board member Katie Bickerstaffe has also been reappointed for a further three-year term, and has been appointed by the Board as Senior Independent Non-Executive Director.

Richard Thompson, ECB Chair, said: “I’m delighted to make our final Board appointments. We have a strong and diverse Board with extensive experience and a wide range of skills.

“Ebony is a unique talent, a trailblazer who was a winner on the pitch and has achieved so much off it. Her ACE Programme has already made a huge impact in creating opportunities for youngsters from Black communities, and she shares my impatience for making further progress in creating a truly inclusive sport.

“Pete also brings with him a vast amount of cricketing experience along with invaluable insight in other sports. He is steeped in the recreational game, and will be another huge asset to the Board.

“I’m also delighted that Katie Bickerstaffe has been appointed as Senior Non-Executive Director. Katie has already made a huge contribution over the past three years, utilising her experience from a number of different senior roles along with her passion for growing the game.”

The new appointments will fill vacancies on the Board following the death of Senior Independent Non-Executive Director Brenda Trenowden, Jim Wood reaching his maximum time on the Board, and Valerie Amos, Martin Darlow, Barry O’Brien and Lucy Pearson not seeking re-election at tomorrow’s AGM.

Notes to editors

Membership of the Board, subject to ratification at tomorrow’s AGM, will be:

Richard Thompson, Chair

Pete Ackerley, Cricket Non-Executive Director

Penny Avis, Independent Non-Executive Director

Katie Bickerstaffe, Senior Independent Non-Executive Director

Alan Dickinson, Cricket Non-Executive Director

Richard Gould, Chief-Executive Officer

Sir Ron Kalifa, Independent Non-Executive Director

Baroness Zahida Manzoor CBE Independent Non-Executive Director

Jennifer Owen Adams, Cricket Non-Executive Director

Ebony Rainford-Brent MBE, Cricket Non-Executive Director

Scott Smith, Chief Financial Officer

Gareth Williams, Cricket Non-Executive Director